Love Survives
by Ki-chanForPresident
Summary: Story made short, Axel Bagatell wants the money he deserves from his rival, Xigbar, but is murdered by him however returns to Earth to get revenge on Xigbar, and all the while meets an orphan boy named Roxas. Based around All Dogs Go to Heaven.
1. Chapter 1

A/n: hey y'all! I present to you a new story! Hope you like it! It's based around the movie 'All Dogs Go to Heaven' but has my own tweak to it such as...more violence...more sexual things...language, all that stuff XD but yeah, I hope you like this chapter and continue reading! Tell me if you like it!

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><p>It was getting quiet early in the hallways of the prison, the prison guards individually locking all the cell gates and making sure the inmates were asleep in their bunks. The sound of their polished boots clacked as they walked down the corridors, checking each jail cell before the sound of their footsteps faded off in the distance and the lamps hanging from the ceiling flickered off.<p>

Once any sound had quieted down from the dimmed hallways, one cell was the one and only cell that was rather active with life that night, and Axel Y.M. Bagatell made sure that no one noticed what was going inside said cell. When he made sure all the other prisoners were asleep and wouldn't reveal what he was doing, the red-haired prisoner chuckled quietly and stepped quickly over to his bunk.

With all his strength, he had managed to pull the wooden bed from the wall and into the middle of the room without so much as a creak from the grungy mattress or the splintering wooden legs. Hiding under the bed was a very large hole which looked like it had been dug for several months.

"Psst! Demyx! You there?" Axel whispered softly into the hole where he was bent on his hands and knees. There came the sound of some rocks crumbling in the hole and a dim little light grew brighter and brighter towards the opening of the hole. With a puff of dust, a head popped up from the hole along with the sound of coughing. Axel swiftly waved his hand back and forth as to free himself from the dust which blew in his direction and hushed the person from the hole so as to not wake prisoners.

"Shut up, you moron!" Axel snapped in a hushed tone. "You wanna wake up the guards or the other inmates?"

"Ack! Pah!"

"I said quiet!"

"Okay, okay, Axel, but just wait 'til you get down here; you'll be coughin' too!"

The male from the hole in the floor was a young man with a hairstyle in the shape of a mullet, and strapped around his forehead was a mining hat with a little light bulb on the front, just bright enough to see what was right in front of your nose. He was very dirty and looked worn out.

Axel didn't stall any longer, and the red-haired male gestured for his best friend, Demyx Ingrahm, to move aside so he could climb down in the hole with Demyx. While on their hands and knees, Demyx took the lead in the tunnel they had burrowed for many, many months.

"So I take it you were able to make time to sneak out in your own cell, too?" Axel mumbled once they were far enough away from the hole in his cell.

"Yeah, man," laughed Demyx. "You really don't like getting your hands dirty, so I-I-aiyaiyai- ACHOO!" Dust puffed up into the pressured air once again and caused Demyx to come to a halt and Axel to bonk his nose right against Demyx's hind-quarters.

"Hey! Demyx! Get a grip and stop sneezing, will ya?" Axel groaned irritably. "Keep movin'! We haven't got all the time in the world..."

"Okay, sheesh! Sorry I have a tickly nose... You always complain a lot, don't'cha, Axel? OW!"

There came a loud clang in front of him and Demyx had rammed right into a drain pipe, his mining hat falling off his head and the light flickered off.

"Damnit, Demyx! Look what ya did! You shouldn't talk to much, you idiot!"

"Do you realize how bad that hurt? Gee wiz, Axel! Help me find my hat..."

It was pitch black in the tunnel as the two males searched around for the light on Demyx's hat, simultaneously on their hands and knees. "Oh! Found it!"

"That's not the hat! Get your hand off me, Demyx!"

"Ah crap! Sorry, Axel!"

A few seconds later, the light on Demyx's hat flickered on and the blonde male tied it securely around his forehead, trying to relocate his path for trying to escape the prison. The drain pipe in front of them was blocking their passage slightly, but there was more of the tunnel beyond it.

"Okay, I knew we weren't gonna be able to get past this pipe without a proper...tool..." Demyx said, searching around for something.

"What do ya got planned?" Axel murmured, trying to look around Demyx to see what he was doing. While crawling through the tunnel, Axel had noticed a few tools around Demyx's waist on a belt he had manage to sneak from the prison during the hours of the day and one of them was a jack hammer, and that was just what Demyx reached for. "Oh man, Dem...you sure you know what yer doin'?"

"I know exactly what I'm doin', Axel!" grinned Demyx as he aligned the head of the hammer to the drain pipe. "With this baby, we'll be free of this prison for the rest of our days! And we can get back to what we do best...gamble!" With a flick of the switch, Demyx turned on the hammer and rocks immediately began falling from the top of the tunnel and once contact was made, the pipe exploded and water burst forth from the pipe instantly. The two males were soaked immediately.

Of course when a major drain pipe in a prison was busted, the prison guards were alerted of this immediately when doing their duty. As Axel and Demyx scrambled to squeeze through the small space between the pipe, the whole prison burst with energy to try and locate the two prisoners which were not in their cells.

"HURRY UP!" Axel yelled as Demyx crawled as fast as he could through the hole. "They're all OVER the place up there! I can hear 'em!"

"I'm going! I'm going!" Demyx cried back. "Ah! Axel! I see the hole!"

There was a small, distant little light shining at the end of the tunnel and before they knew it, both of them were crawling through a hole that reached the surface and outside of the prison. Search lights were moving all around the prison and the sound of yells and shouts coming from the large building as well. The hole was on the outside of the perimeter fence of the prison, just wide and open enough to where both criminals could squeeze through without getting cut by the fence. Luckily enough, the prison guards did not catch sight of the two escapees and did not even notice Axel and Demyx running for their lives down the long winding road that lead away from the lively prison.

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><p>Axel and Demyx did not stop running until they were sure they were far enough away from the prison and that was in a small bayou roughly around a two hours' walk from the brightly lit city of New Orleans. Panting both males came to a stop by some trees which they leaned against to catch their breath.<p>

"So, Axel... Now that we're out of the big house, where we off to now?" Demyx asked, unstrapping his hat off and tossing it carelessly away.

"Well, Dem," Axel yawned, stretching his arms behind him. It felt nice being out of that cramped cell and able to stretch his arms and do as he pleased. "I think I should drop a visit to the bozo who got me locked up in the first place."

"Oh no..." Demyx murmured, looking terrified. "No no no! Axel, please no! Let's not go there, man! Xigbar's thugs will have us massacred for sure! You know how good he is at getting what he wants!"

"Aye! Dem!" Axel barked. "I've been workin' with this guy for lots of years, and he's not gonna get what he wants... That dick owes me money and I'm gonna get my fair share if it's the last thing I do. C'mon, Demyx... We're going to see Xigbar Calico right now..."

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><p>Xigbar Calico was a well looked upon, and well feared, gangster who was rich and good at getting what he wanted. He lived and owned a casino named 'Xigbar's and Axel's' hidden away from the festivities of the heart of New Orleans and was a large sail boat that looked rather broken and like it wouldn't exactly be very much fun to ride in and it was tied securely to a dock on the shallows of the lake it sat on. There were sparkly lights coming from the inside of the lop-sided boat, and the interior was full of life.<p>

On the inside, men and women were standing around gambling tables, the sounds of dice crackling against the green carpet tables, and cards clapping together and the delightful little rings of slot machines hitting the jackpot. There was a great bit of activity happening in the casino, and at least every single poker table was packed tightly with men betting huge amounts of money, all with drinks in their hands and cigarettes in their mouths.

At the far end of the room was a long line of people watching no other than rabbits sprint to a finish line with little tags attached to their long ears with numbers on them. Some of the people in the crowd called out things like, "Run, number four!", "I bet all I got on you, now go!", "Fucking rabbit, MOVE!" and similar cries. It was quite obvious this casino was making it's fair share of wagers and the owner, Xigbar, was making plenty of dough.

As the twenty-third round of rabbit racing had subsided (the tiniest little white rabbit had one the race and only one guy betting won), the crowd seemed to die down a bit and everyone headed over to the bar to get themselves some drinks. It was around that time when the front door to the casino opened up and in came Axel, holding no smile on his face and it was safe to say that everyone who's eyes had landed on the popular redhead had nearly popped out of their skull.

"Hey guys!" Axel called to the crowd, waving his hand arrogantly. "Miss me?"

"AXEL!" cried many of the people in the room. Several men and women crowded around Axel, patting him on the shoulder and shaking his hand.

"It's great to see you again, Axel!"

"How'd you get out of jail?"

"Looking just as sexy as ever, handsome..."

Axel ignored nearly all of the comments said to him as he and Demyx strode over to the bar (the crowd opened up for him) and hammered his fist on the bar counter. The bartender, a young man with an askew top hat and golden facial hair, smirked at Axel and wordlessly passed him a mug of foaming beer.

"Axel..." murmured the bartender. "Thought I'd never see you again."

"Thought I'd never taste some of this good-for-nothing ale again," Axel sighed as he wiped some of the foam away from his mouth with his sleeve.

"I thought you were gonna be goin' to the electric chair, my friend."

"Not in a million years, Luxord," Axel grinned as he sat down at a barstool. "There ain't nobody around who's gonna keep Axel Y.M. Bagatell down!"

"Heh heh," Luxord chuckled again as he served Axel another beverage. "I'll tell ya though, Axel... In the months you've been gone, this casino has been a disgrace ever since Xigbar has been in charge of it..." Luxord was talking in a rather hushed whisper, as if any of Xigbar's thugs might've overheard him he would've been kicked out and possibly gotten the cement shoes if he was heard.

"How so?" Axel responded as he sipped his drink, not caring that the casino got a bit more lively once again.

"Xigbar ain't cuttin' the slack on any of the prices of stuff, and he hardly pays the proper cash money for bets anymore neither," Luxord said as he spat in a glass and wiped it clean. "That old con man has got himself a spot in hell for what he's doin', I say. But no one's gonna stand up to the geezer for shit; he's got so many guns loaded in the back and so many men to do his work, none of us have got a chance to get our money."

"Don't you worry, Luxord," Axel grinned. "When I'm finished with Xigbar, everyone here will be able to get what they deserve. Now, speaking of him...he in the back?"

"Where he usually is," Luxord replied, finally noticing that Demyx was sitting next to Axel and wanted service as well. "Help yerself..." He said to Demyx who slipped behind the bar to grasp a wine bottle. "The lazy-ass barely comes out and spends time in his casino. All he does is roll around in money and do as he wishes."

"Pfft, he'll get what's comin' to him..." Axel sighed, rolling his green gaze. As he stood up and stepped away from the bar, several of the people standing around watched him head towards a secluded looking staircase and the casino burst with noise once more once Axel was out of sight.

Demyx didn't much like being here after what happened to the two of them when Xigbar managed to get them in jail. He didn't like sharing; that was for sure. Xigbar and Axel owned the casino together and planned on making a decent amount of cash to open and even bigger club deeper in the heart of the city, but Xigbar just didn't enjoy the idea of giving Axel some of the money too and had gotten Axel and Demyx in jail for many past stories that were withheld and not meant to be mentioned again, all kinds of crap in the past. It was safe to say that getting put in jail wasn't fun at all, and Demyx was worried out of his mind of what could happen to Axel if things didn't go as they planned.

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><p>Axel had reached the top of the dark staircase, the sounds of the casino below getting quieter as he neared Xigbar's area of the casino. "Hey! Xigbar! Where are you, man?" He noticed a small door off to the side in the dark room and as he went to go and open it, someone else on the inside opened it instead. Standing in the doorframe was no other than Xigbar himself, dressed in a tight-fitting black suit with a cigar in his mouth. He wore an eye patch and had long black hair with one gray streak in it. Usually it was tied back in a ponytail but it was hanging straight down his back as of now.<p>

"Axel..." Xigbar murmured, chuckling a moment. "Why what a surprise it is seeing you here..." He shook hands with Axel, mildly amused to see Axel and mildly aggravated to see him too. "Come on in..."

"Don't mind if I do," Axel grinned as he strolled into the room. The back room was lit by a red light and Xigbar sat down on a large sofa and Axel sat down on a sofa opposite him, crossed his legs and stared at Xigbar who took a long drag from his cigar, blowing the stinking smoke in Axel's direction. Axel was perturbed by the odor at all; he had smelled a lot worse smells in jail.

"So...what'cha want, Axel?" Xigbar grunted. "You're out of jail...somehow...and I know you want some of the payment, right?"

"You bet your ass I do," Axel replied. "Heh heh... Xigbar, you know we both own this nice place...now...I think I need a fair share of the cash here..."

"Mm..." Xigbar grunted in reply again.

Axel had to try and schmooze his way into getting what he wanted from Xigbar, otherwise this was gonna be a complete disaster. "But ya know what would be real good? If we added a little...class to this place, ya know? Maybe a couple new bands...some dancing girls and-"

"Axel, Axel, Axel..." Xigbar chuckled, flicking some ash off the end of his cigar. "I can't say I really...want you here, man... You got a criminal record here, Axel... Can't have that in my casino ya know..."

Axel's face hardened and he gritted his teeth. "Xigbar...you gotta give me 50% percent of _our_casino, man! When I was outside, I saw our bar sign read only 'Xigbar's' instead of 'Xigbar's and Axel's'... Gimme my amount man!"

"Hey, Axel," chuckled Xigbar. "You haven't heard my bargain yet... You're a special friend to me, Axel, and I've got to...treat you specially... I'll give you the money, fifty percent...and how about this. I'll set you up your own personal club." Xigbar smirked at Axel and stood up, the redhead following Xigbar's actions and rising to his feet as well. Xigbar placed his arm around Axel's shoulders, the black-haired gangster smirking at Axel's cocked eyebrow.

"How great would it be to have a place of your own? Somewhere where your record ain't known about... I'll give ya all the means ya want; dancing girls and all..."

Axel rubbed his chin and hummed in thought. As much as he adored this casino, he just had to take Xigbar up on that offer. The more Xigbar suggested it, the more Axel liked the idea. He'd make the casino so great; it have all kinds of gambling games, all kinds of shows, all kinds of performances, food, drinks- everything any gambler could dream of! It'd be great!

"Okay, Xig... You got yourself a deal, man..." Axel grinned, shaking hands with Xigbar.

"Perfect..." Xigbar smiled, squeezing Axel's hand rather tightly before swiftly pulling away. "Meet me downstairs in twenty minutes - we're heading over to Mardi Gras..."

"Got'cha there, Xigbar," Axel grinned, saluting to him. "Hey man..." Xigbar turned to look back at Axel, brow raised. "Thanks. You're a good pal."

Xigbar smiled. "I think after tonight...I'll be the best friend you'll ever have." Axel smiled again and stepped quickly downstairs while Xigbar slammed his door shut. Xigbar plopped down on his couch again and placed his cigar down in an ashtray, pulling back his sleeve to look at his wristwatch, and right on cue, the door opened and in stepped a very small young boy.

His hair was dark blue and hanging in front of his right eye. He was wearing all black and looked rather threateningly with the way he was dressed - choker collar with spikes, fingerless gloves and a stare that looked mean.

"Zexion, glad you're here," Xigbar smiled. "Look, you know Axel's back..."

"Of course..." Zexion said, crossing his arms.

"There ain't no mother-fucking way...under the sun...I am giving Axel fifty percent of my money..." Xigbar growled. "He got out of prison...and now...I'm pissed."

"We were able to set up Axel into jail, along with his friend...so now we got the means to do other things, boss," Zexion murmured, looking expressionless. Towards the staircase, Demyx began climbing it for he had yet to see Axel rejoin him downstairs and he was getting a little anxious to what had happened to him; with the crowd downstairs it was hard to spot anyone. Demyx approached the door and stopped when he heard voices and neither of them sounded like Axel, but one definitely was Xigbar...

"We have the opportunity to squeeze Axel's head with pliers..." Zexion said, the corner of his mouth curling up a bit. "If I know you good enough, boss, I know you want Axel out of the world completely..."

Xigbar chuckled again. "You certainly do know me well, Zexion. But don't worry about it... Axel's a special friend of mine, I've got to treat him specially..."

Demyx's eyes widened and he stepped slowly back and rushed down the stairs, into the crowd and panicked as he tried to locate Axel. The redhead was nowhere to be seen; Axel was already heading towards the big parade in the city, and nearly everyone else in the crowd was as well, Demyx getting bumped and shoved as he tried to get out of the pub.

"Axel! Axel!" Demyx cried in the hoopla of the people. "Axel! They're gonna kill you!"

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><p>Mardi Gras was as it always was every year, full of life, music, people dancing, huge parade floats and the people in the floats throwing out necklaces and boas. Demyx was running through the crowd, desperately trying to locate Axel in the mass of people. "Axel... Axel! Where are you?" The redhead was absolutely nowhere to be seen, and Demyx was getting extremely scared...<p>

Axel had been escorted by Xigbar's thugs to a secluded area of Mardi Gras, off to a darker side of the city where there was no one around. Xigbar was giving a testimonial to Axel, a batch of other men and a few women standing around smirking.

"My good friend, Axel Bagatell..." Xigbar smiled to the redhead who was standing next to Xigbar with a drink in hand. "You're gonna go down in history with what I'm about to give you, my friend... I'll loan you the cash and you'll have one of the best casinos that New Orleans has to offer!"

Axel hiccupped and smiled up at Xigbar, and he was passed more and more alcohol the more Xigbar talked. Xigbar's lackeys were getting Axel drunker and drunker by the minute and soon enough, Axel was on the verge of blacking out as he started to drunkenly sing and praise Xigbar and tell him how much this meant to him.

"Hey guys, how about you take Axel out back further...and give Axel his surprise." Xigbar smiled and as he witnessed his boys take Axel by the arms and lead him towards the docks on the lake nearby. Axel allowed them to escort him as he laughed and sang along the way, remembering the tune from the casino earlier and humming it off-key as he stepped onto the docks and at the far end of the pier.

Zexion awaited him at the end of the pier and smiled at him. "Now Axel, sit down and don't peek." Zexion had a blindfold and he wrapped it securely around Axel's head, the redhead voluntarily letting Zexion do so, Axel continuing to sing while slurring his rules. "We got a real blast of a surprise for you, so don't peek."

"Don't choo worrraay, Zexyyy..." Axel hiccupped. "I don't think this night could g-get HIC! ...any better for me!"

Zexion chuckled. "Oh it can. For all of is, Axel." As Zexion gestured for Axel to sit on the edge of the dock, the redhead swinging his legs back and forth, the blunette glanced back up at the top of the dock and saw Xigbar beginning to head down the pier, his hands behind his back...rifle in hand.

Demyx had arrived at the area where Xigbar and Axel previously were and he noticed a group of people on the pier and panted as he hurried towards them. "A-Axel!" Demyx ran as fast as his legs could carry him, but there was no way he was going to be able to make it in time as Xigbar stood next to Axel, smirk on his face and shining silver gun in his hands.

"You're gonna go down in history, my dear friend," chuckled Xigbar. "Heh heh...heh..."

"I l-love you...Z-Zigburrr!"

Xigbar grinned from ear to ear as he positioned the gun near Axel's temple. "Love you too, Axel. Good things...come to those...who wait."

Demyx stopped at the top of the pier and his eyes widened as he heard a gunshot. "AXEL!"

Axel's body fell onto the ground, blood dripping from the bullet hole in his head. Xigbar pocketed his gun and frowned, gesturing for his thugs to dispose of Axel's body. Xigbar turned around and began heading up the dock and Demyx ran hurriedly for his life because if Xigbar saw him he'd be dead too.

With a loud splash, Axel's body was dumped into the river and he began sinking down towards the bottom of the lake, stone cold.


	2. Chapter 2

A/n: heeeeere's the next chapter! hahaa! bet you guys weren't expecting an update THIS soon! XD sorry, I'm inspired. Well, please enjoy and tell me what'cha think 83

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><p>The sound of Xigbar's gunshot had reverberated into Axel's eardrums and continued long after Axel had been shot. Axel seemed to be falling, and extremely fast too. What was going on here? Just a second ago, Axel was about to receive a great surprise from Xigbar, his loyal friend who was gonna be giving him the cash to open up his own club! Why was he falling at an incredible speed, with blinding colors all around him and the sound of that gunshot echoing all around him.<p>

The falling didn't last for much longer as Axel's back was met with something incredibly cushioned. The blinding colors were replaced with soft colors; still bright and full of life, but not as extreme. Axel's vision was rather hazy as he opened his green gaze, and he saw an outlined figure standing before him.

"Ugghh..." Axel groaned as he blinked his eyes repeatedly. Slowly, he sat up from where he had collapsed and noticed that he had landed...on a cloud. And a _pink_cloud, no less! Outraged about his confusion, Axel turned to the hazy figure in front of him and shouted, "What the HELL is going on here?" That's when Axel's eyes widened when he realized he had tried to say the word 'hell' but no word that sounded like 'hell' came out of his throat.

"_Never fear, Axel Y.M. Bagatell, for you are in good hands, from where you fell..."_

"Uh...what?" Axel grimaced, rubbing his cheek.

_"You have many questions, that is for sure, but does it appear that your past is a blur?"_

"Hey man," Axel said, looking irritable, "quit rhyming already and just speak English, why don't'cha? And why're you all hidden away from me like that? Are you some mystical being or something? Come out and show yourself!"

"Oh, fine!" responded the figure. In an instant, it seemed the haziness hiding this person was blown away by a breeze and an extremely handsome man with sugar-pink hair stood before Axel, and, to Axel's ironic surprise, had enormous white wings sprouted from his back.

"I have to speak that way for new-comers..." said the angel (Axel was befuddled). "The man upstairs' orders... Come on now, Axel, let's go."

"Uhhhh..." Axel spoke, clearly speechless and confused. "What the heck is going on here?"

"You're in the Hall of Judgment, Axel," replied the angel, tossing some of his pink hair over his shoulder. "My name is Marluxia. My friends call me Marly..."

"Do your other 'friends' have wings like you?" Axel spoke, scratching the nape of his neck.

"Well of course!" Marluxia tittered as if this was second nature to him.

"Okay, is this some kind of joke, 'cause ya know, it's Mardi Gras?" Axel laughed half-heartedly, desperate to see Xigbar, Demyx or SOMEBODY come out from somewhere and laugh at his face for believing all this.

"Relax, Axel," Marluxia smiled, stroking Axel's cheek which made Axel uncomfortable. "You have nothing to worry about. You're in Heaven, you see, which means you _didn't_go to Hell. You're in good hands..."

"Wait...Heaven?" Axel breathed. "I d-don't..."

"Don't think, just...enjoy..." Marluxia smiled as he took Axel's hands. Before Axel had a moment to speak, he was lifted off the ground and began flying with Marluxia across fields of clouds. Axel went along with Marluxia, as much as he wanted answers, and just stared around this immaculate location. Was this really Heaven? It was a pretty good trick to say the least if it was one because he was actually flying...

"There are lots of advantages here, Axel," Marluxia added with a smile. "In Heaven...you have the freedom to drink all the alcohol you desire without getting drunk..."

"Wait, really?" Axel grinned, liking the sound of that.

"More advantages include...endless parties of dancing, singing, and plenty of games that I'm sure you enjoy..."

"Blackjack? Craps? Russian roulette? Poker? _Strip_poker?" Axel asked eagerly.

"I can't say I've heard of those games, but I'm sure you can play whatever you wish here..." Marluxia replied, looking a little amused. "But Axel Y.M. Bagatell...I'd like to introduce you to the most wonderful place in the universe; Heaven. Welcome...to being dead."

"...WHAT!" Axel proclaimed. The redhead was irate. "I-I'm...I'm dead! Wait a second! That totally can't be right! It's only 1939, I've only been around twenty-four years, I've got a lot to live for! B-But wait a second...how...did I die?" But it was at that very instant that it dawned to him.

The sound of that gunshot ringing through his ears... The words that Xigbar spoke to him right before all this happened. _Good things come to those who wait._

"XIGBAR!" Axel howled in rage. "That son of a BITCH I'm gonna KILL him!"

As Axel was cursing Xigbar, he had yet to notice Marluxia had arrived at a podium with a massive book sitting upon it's surface. "Hmm... Your records are a little...peculiar, Axel."

"Records?" Axel spoke, hovering over towards the book. "My...records?" Axel looked a little scared for a second the more Marluxia read over the book.

"Hm... You have gambled more than any human being should... When you were nineteen years old, you had sexual relations with a thirteen year old boy..."

"Ahaha," Axel laugehd. "That was a good night..."

"And you have confiscated sixteen bags of marijuana..." Marluxia looked up and eyed Axel with a very long frown and all Axel could down was nervously look at his feet.

"I donated all the money to charity..." Axel lied.

"Well, Axel, everything will be forgiven in a short while," Marluxia smiled very warmly. As Axel glanced back up at the angel, he noticed the pink-haired male had magically produced a long feather pen out of the thin air and offered it to Axel. "Just sign your name at the bottom of the page and everything will be in order and you'll be welcome in Heaven to do all you please."

"No, no, no!" Axel murmured. "There's no way I'm gonna give up the fantastic life I had down there!"

"You really don't have much of a choice, Axel," added Marluxia. "Your life has stopped ticking, and it's your time."

"Pfft! Then just wind up that 'watch' and get my life ticking again!" Axel spat. "I refuse to give up on my life!"

"Oh good Heaven's no!" Marluxia gasped. "If I actually wound your life watch back up then you _would_go back to earth."

"Wait...I..._would?"_Axel blinked, looking surprised by this. If he could actually find this life watch, wind it back up and what not...could he actually return to earth to get his revenge on Xigbar? Axel knew this was the appropriate time to put his schmoozing to good use. Could his silver tongue work on angels of God?

"Alright, I'll sign this book," Axel smiled and Marluxia smiled back. "But before I do... How about you show me around a little more, and how about we get to know one another? Take me on a tour."

"We've got all the time in the universe," Marluxia spoke peacefully. "Just so you know, everything you've done and everything you will do is known and is written down in your records book. Buuuut, ah, you can check that out later."

"You're most certainly right," Axel smiled, floating after Marluxia. He couldn't believe what he was about to do, but it was going to work, he knew it would. "Marly...mind if I call you Marly? How about you and I...have a dance?"

"A dance?" Marluxia snickered. "I do love the occasional ballroom dance."

As the two males stood on a cloud, Axel took Marluxia's hand and put his other hand on Marluxia's waist, majestically beginning to move Marluxia delicately from side to side and tipping Marluxia back before pulling him slowly right back up. "So...you got a...basement where you keep these life watches?"

"You haven't noticed?" Marluxia giggled as he twirled. "We're in the room where everyone's life watch is kept." Marluxia came to a halt and looked up, catching sight of something sparkling and making it's way slowly down from somewhere high. Axel followed Marluxia's gaze and saw a golden pocket watch, shimmering and shining from the stars around them.

"Is that it?" Axel chuckled, outstretching his hand to take the watch. Marluxia was faster however and snatched it out of the air before Axel could take it. Marluxia wagged his index finger back and forth and tittered again - that guy's laugh was just _too_much.

"There are no surprises in Heaven," Marluxia chuckled again. Flapping his massive wings, Marluxia hovered away and Axel quickly followed, trying to slither his way into getting that watch...

"Oh come on, Marly... You can't honestly expect for me to give up my life on earth? I haven't been to the Bahamas yet... And someday, I planned on going! To Brazil, too!"

"We have beautiful landscapes here that resemble Brazil and the Bahamas," Marluxia added. "Axel, you've got to think... Earth is a place full of bad, bad people who don't know what they're doing when they can really fix their lives."

"Then...how about you let me do that, then?" chuckled Axel as he sneakily tried to grab at the watch in Marluxia's hand. Marluxia was quick to hide it again.

"Earth is full of broken dreams... Everyone on earth waits for the day where they can return to their _true_home... This wonderful place full of magnificent dreams..."

The two of them took a seat on a cloud, right next to the full moon. Axel gazed down over the edge of the cloud, noticing, quite clearly, a city below. He wondered if it was the city he lived in, but all he knew was he wanted to return there, continue his life of gambling and parties and money, which he certainly couldn't do up here!

"Hey... I don't much like stealing, Marly... But, I sure as hell ain't gonna buy _your_deal." The word 'hell' didn't come out of his mouth again but Axel wasn't as perturbed by it as he was before.

"Haha, see? You're getting the rhyming technique down swimmingly!" Marluxia chirped.

"Ah, forget about that for a second, Marly..." Axel smiled, trying to schmooze his way into getting that watch. He leaned in closer to the angel and Marluxia, surprisingly, leaned into Axel as if they had been lovers for years. "This place is beautiful, yes...but...my life was just fantastic! I don't wanna give that up, you know?" Axel slowly placed his arm around Marluxia's shoulder. "The kind of goals I had planned were grand. Ya know, I was gonna open up my own place, with my pal, Demyx! Now I can't do that..." Axel's hand slipped down to Marluxia's waist. He peeked inconspicuously around Marluxia's shoulder and caught sight of the watch sitting on the cloud next to Marluxia's hand.

"You have a wonderful shoulder to lean on," Marluxia sighed romantically.

"Wonderful. You use that word a lot," chuckled Axel as his finger looped around the chain connected to the watch. "So, you sure you've never been surprised?"

"Oh, not at all, not ever," Marluxia tittered again. Sneakily, Axel pulled the watch behind Marluxia and then exchanged the watch with his other hand so he could continue holding Marluxia's waist with his other so that Marluxia wouldn't grow suspicious. But when Marluxia heard a strange ticking noise, he opened one eye and looked at Axel.

"Axel, what are you doing?"

"Well, I got some news for you, Marluxia," Axel grinned as he wound the watch up behind his back. "_You're_gonna be surprised!"

The watch started to tick, and Marluxia's eyes widened horrifically. "N-No! AXEL! What have you DONE!"

The cloud they were sitting on turned black, and immediately the cloud disappeared and Axel began falling from it, watch still in his hand. He could hear the distant sound of Marluxia screaming from above.

Axel felt sick as he was rocketed in that familiar brightly colored tunnel of light, rocks and loud noises, much of which sounded like Marluxia's screams. He felt his eyes water as he fell through the tunnel of light and Axel noticed the light at the end of the tunnel growing dimmer and the next thing he knew, he couldn't breathe. And, he was wet. Axel was underwater, and the moment Axel realized this he swam as fast as he could for the surface of the water. Once he broke the surface, he began choking and coughing hysterically.

He was at the pier he had been shot on, the redhead grabbing at the edge of the pier and pulling his soaking wet self up onto it. He was still coughing loudly, water spurting from his mouth and trickling down his already wet chin. His life watch was in his hand and it's door popped open, the hands on the clock ticking erratically as if it was Axel's heartbeat.

Panting heavily, Axel went to sit up, head pounding and stomach churning uncomfortably. He never felt worse in his life. His hand gripped his watch and he held it up to his green eyes. The clock face was glowing... Axel's eyes widened a bit as he heard something...

_Axel... You can never go back to Heaven... You can never go back to Heaven..._

Those words repeated continuously in his head and caused his heart to hammer nervously. Axel, out of fury and fear, slammed the clock's door shut and the voice in his head stopped at once.

"Tch...what a bunch of bologna..." Axel grumbled as he rose to his feet and pushed the watch carelessly into his soaked trousers pocket. He heard a distant thunder clap in the distance and Axel knew he needed to head back to his house where he knew he needed to talk to Demyx and get even with Xigbar, and by even he meant get rid of Xigbar for good.

* * *

><p>Axel and Demyx's home was located in a very small and poorly built little house on the edge of New Orleans. The house had two rooms and one belonged to either male, Axel and Demyx. Demyx was asleep on his bed in his room, his forehead moist with sweat as he appeared to be having a nightmare.<p>

_"Axel!" Demyx cried as he watched his best friend get shot on the pier. He saw Xigbar, walking towards him and Demyx fled, fled for his young life to not experience the same fate that happened to Axel. As he ran, he found an abandoned alleyway which was seemingly safe._

_"Thought I'd find you here..." murmured a familiar voice._

_Demyx yelped and whipped around, seeing at once, Xigbar standing at the entrance of the alley, his gun in hand and shining brightly._

_"No! Xigbar! Please! Have mercy!" Demyx pleaded. "Don't shoot! A-Axel! Help me!" Xigbar slowly lifted his gun and aimed it at Demyx, cocking it and then..._

"YO! DEMYX! WAKE THE FUCK UP, YOU DUMBASS MORON!"

Demyx woke up with a start and screamed out loudly when he was met face to face with somebody. Sitting up very fast, he bumped his head on the headboard of his bed, wincing and then panting gently as he noticed it wasn't Xigbar in front of him, it was Axel, his best friend...

"Oh...Axel...hehehe, it's you!" Demyx laughed, hand on his face.

"Of course it's me!" Axel barked. "Who else would I be?"

"Haha, just maybe X-X-Xigbar..." Demyx's eyes slowly widened as he stared at Axel, looking as if he seen a ghost and he very well might have been seeing one. "AXEL! YOU'RE DEAD!" Demyx began panicking and desperately tried to maneuver his way around Axel, simultaneously while the redhead was trying to calm Demyx down and convince him he was not a ghost.

"I saw you get shot! I saw it!" Demyx gasped, tears in his eyes and he got away from Axel. He was holding a chair and pointing it at Axel. "D-Don't you come near me, man! I KNOW you're dead!"

"Dem, Dem, listen, man! I'm not dead!" Axel said, holding out his hands. He avoided the chair which was thrown at him, several cardboard boxes and a frisbee which just flew around the room and ended up hitting Demyx in the head rather than Axel.

"You get away! Axel, you're dead!" Demyx wailed out in terror as he scrambled away from Axel. The redhead dashed right after him, calling out to Demyx and finally tackling him to the floor. Demyx screamed bloody murder as Axel sat on top of him, and the redhead had managed to wrestle Demyx around onto his back, grabbing Demyx's wrists with one hand and putting his other hand over Demyx's mouth to silence him.

"Shut up, Demyx..." Axel breathed, trying to stay calm but having a difficult time. "I am not a ghost. I am not dead. Do I look dead to you? See the scar I got back in '28? Yeah, it's legit..."

Demyx's blue eyes were as wide as saucers. "You can guarantee Axel Y.M. Bagatell is safe and sound...alive..." Demyx seemed to be settling down and when Axel removed his hand from Demyx's mouth, the blonde had tears running down his face and he clung to Axel desperately.

"Oh, Axel! I saw! I saw, they shot you, Axel! Then they dumped your body in the river!" Demyx wailed, crying into Axel's shoulder. Like a loving friend, Axel hugged Demyx back and patted his shoulder.

"Listen though, Dem!" Axel said, pulling a crying Demyx away. "I got a plan. I can't let anyone know that I'm alive... I gotta make Xigbar pay for what he did to me..."

"No, no, no, no, no, NO! Axel! Please, no!" Demyx begged desperately. "He shot you in the head, Axel! It'll be worse next time!"

"It won't be worse, because I realized something a little bit fishy when I visited Xigbar at our casino," Axel explained, patting Demyx's cheek. "How come Xigbar was making so much business if I am the brains in running the casino. Hm? Why was Xigbar making so much money when I was in the big house?"

Axel got up off Demyx and strode over to his side of the house, sitting down on the edge of his bed which creaked when he sat down on it. "Seems like a few months in prison really wouldn't be enough to get Xigbar to pay for what he did..."

"Axel, man...listen..." Demyx moaned nervously as he crawled over to Axel. "Why don't we just get out of here? Since you're know..._alive_and stuff, why don't we go some place else? Like...the Himalayas? We could open up a club there!" Demyx looked excited about this, but an unlistening Axel had better ideas...

"I want Xigbar to suffer...good, long, and hard..." Axel grinned rather maliciously. "Something worse than death... Something that'll keep Xigbar alive and _wishing_he was dead..."

"How in the world are you gonna do whatever you wanna do to Xigbar with all this thugs, man?" Demyx asked honestly. "But not only that, but Xigbar's got himself a secret weapon; a _monster!"_

"Monster?" Axel repeated, glancing at Demyx with a quirked eyebrow. Demyx stared at Axel for a moment and then, an extremely devilish look curled onto Axel's lips as he grinned up at the ceiling.

"NO! NOOOO! AXEL!" begged Demyx, pawing at Axel's knees.

"Get up, Demyx, I'm not in the mood for that," Axel grinned as he stood to his feet. Grinning as he looked back at Demyx, "We've got something to look into about Xigbar's so-called...'monster'..."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/n: Hey everyone! Hope you're enjoying this! Wrote this in over a two day period xD so um, tell me what'cha think about it! Thanks a bunch and enjoy!**

* * *

><p>After Axel Bagatell had heard about some so-called 'monster' being hidden secretly in his and Xigbar's casino, the red-haired gambler made it certain he was going to find out what this monster was, confiscate it and use it to get Xigbar back for good. But what was honestly the best way to sneak back into his casino without Xigbar and his thugs not knowing? And it was then that Axel decided to put all those old spy films to the test and try the ventilation system of the building.<p>

Axel had to force Demyx to go with him with a great deal of horsepower; Demyx was not in the slightest bit eager to go back to the casino where Xigbar was...

"C'mon, Axel," Demyx whimpered quietly as Axel shoved him forward from behind. "I r-really don't think this is a good idea. Why couldn't I have just stayed at the house, man? What point is there in me bein' here?"

"Shhh!" Axel barked, gently popping a bickering Demyx on the back of his skull. "Listen Demyx, I've about had it with you, man." They had stopped in front of one ventilation screen where some light was spilling in through the cracks, and Axel was glowering heavily down at Demyx who was now curled up on the floor of the ventilation system, his eyes watery as Axel reprimanded the blonde.

"If you're too much of a _pussy _to help me out with this, then you're no friend of mine," said Axel as he turned to try and peer through the screen.

"No, no! I'm not scared," Demyx whispered, sitting up. "I'm just worried Xigbar's gonna catch us and put a gun in our mouths!"

But Axel wasn't listening. He was staring intently through the screen, examining the room before him. It looked like a small room, and there were no windows. There was a small bed in the corner of the room that was stacked and piled with blankets and pillows, and in the middle of the room was a craps table that looked as if it hadn't been used in a couple of years.

"I don't think anythin's in here, Dem," Axel said, turning away from the screen. Just out of curiosity, Demyx crawled forward to take a look himself and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the massive pile of patch-work blankets move.

"A-A-AHH!"

Before Demyx could scream any longer or louder, Axel had slapped a hand over the blonde's mouth to shut him up. "What. What is it?" Demyx pointed forward at the screen, shaking in his tatty clothes. Axel quirked an eyebrow and moved towards the screen again and sure enough, those blankets were moving; they looked like they were breathing.

"What the...fuck?" Axel murmured and continued to stare unblinkingly at the pile of cloth. "That...can't be right..."

"Of course it's right," Demyx whimpered, covering his eyes. "It's g-gotta be one of those Frankenstein stories... Xigbar managed to make a monster, I tell ya! I'm sure of it!"

"Will you shut that hole in your face?" Axel snarled and Demyx immediately went silent. "I don't think that Xigbar would make a monster out of freaking blankets and pillows, man. What's he gonna scare off? Squirrels?"

"Well, it's scarin' me..."

"Well, you're a pussy, so it's normal."

Axel couldn't help but think there was something incredibly fishy about this situation though. He wasn't about to think that that pile of cushions was a monster; there was something else behind it. And speak of the devil, Axel was right...

The blankets shifted a little more and Axel watched closely and to his surprise he saw a human hand push the blankets away over a human head. The 'monster' wasn't a monster but a person, and the more the blankets were strewn away from this being, the more Axel saw that it was a little boy, a little boy with golden blonde hair.

"It's a little kid..." Axel spoke, looking very confused by this. "Is this for real? Why would Xigbar be keepin' some little kid?"

But the more he stared at this little youth he began to notice the kind of angelic features he seemed to hold. He had the completion of the softest looking sands on the most tropical and paradise beach. His eyes were sparkling beauties, shimmering like that of the rarest sapphires. And his hair was as golden yellow as that of the richest gold, the beautiful strands shaped naturally into cute little spikes; much like Axel's hair. As much as Axel didn't want to already admit it, his heart was absolutely popping out of his chest from the loveliness of this little boy...

The blonde boy in the bed slowly rose from his slumber as he rubbed at his blue eyes, yawning sleepily. However, his yawn was cut off when the sound of a door being closed sounded. Both Axel and Demyx steered away from the screen when they heard the sound of the closing door as well, the redhead's eyes trying their best to continue watching through the screen. He caught sight of some iron stairs and coming down the stairs was no other than Xigbar himself.

"Good evening, Roxas," Xigbar chuckled and strode across the room. Roxas seemed unhappy to see Xigbar and brought his legs up to his chest and embraced them; he looked a little afraid. "How're you doing, poppet?" Xigbar was smoking again and as he exhaled a large puff of awful smelling smoke billowed out from his lips.

"I just woke up..." muttered Roxas.

"That's nice," Xigbar chuckled. "You sleep alright, babe?"

"As...as well as I could," answered Roxas, not mentioning that the bed he slept on felt like metal. "Xigbar? Do you think...you could let me outside today? I haven't been able to get some fresh air in a while..."

"Sure, why not," Xigbar said frostily. Roxas had noticed that Xigbar was holding something behind his back, but when he dropped it carelessly onto the unused craps table Roxas saw it was a little white bunny rabbit in a cage. The bars of the cage rattled very loudly when Xigbar dropped it on the table, uncaring that it probably scared the daylights out of the rabbit.

"But, my sweet little cherry, you gotta do the business first," Xigbar said, drawing out some more smoke from his cigarette. "Talk to him."

Axel cocked an eyebrow at what Xigbar said. Did he mean talk to the rabbit? Had Xigbar absolutely lost his mind? But he supposed he hadn't when Axel watched Roxas slip off the bed, revealing his whole slender little body, clad in a pair of torn up shorts and a long-sleeve red shirt that was low-cut and had a few holes here and there. The blonde boy stepped slowly over to the craps table, smiling sweetly at the fluffy rabbit in it's cage.

"Hello," Roxas smiled to the rabbit. Strangely enough, the rabbit seemed to respond to Roxas's sweet demeanor and hopped towards him, the bars preventing him from getting any closer to Roxas. The blonde's smile increased and he stuck his fingers between the bars and stroked the rabbit's head. "I see you're going to be entering the rabbit race later, right?"

The rabbit's long ears flopped and it nodded it's head. Roxas smiled, "That's good. So, who do you think is gonna win?" The rabbit squeaked quietly and pawed at the cage. "Ah, so you believe Figaro is going to win? Why do you say that?" The rabbit's ears fell limp to it's side and scratched at the bottom of the cage with it's teeny claws. "What?" Roxas looked surprised by what he had heard the rabbit 'say' to him. "Because everyone else is sick? Sick with what?"

Xigbar was standing right next to Roxas, watching him closely the whole time, taking a few more drags from his cigarette and acting as if this little blonde boy talking to animals was completely normal. Axel, on the other hand, looked absolutely bewildered... Was this honestly true? Could that boy actually talk to animals?

"Stomach aches... I see," Roxas said, nodding his head and tapping his chin. "Tell the rest of them to stay away from celery sticks for a while and maybe they should take this race off?" Roxas glanced up at Xigbar and the pony-tailed man smirked delightedly.

"So, the odds are number six will win tonight," Xigbar drawled and flicked some ashes of his cigarette haphazardly onto the rabbit's cage. "Well, I'll just have to send Zexion to place the bets on him, won't I?" As Xigbar drew out the remains of his cigarette, Axel was about to have a serious meltdown up in the ventilation system.

"So _that's_ how he did it! The scoundrel! The bastard! He's been cheating his way with that boy this whole time!" Axel looked furious, but he kept his voice down very quietly so the only one who heard him was Demyx. Axel shook his head in bewilderment as he continued watching through the screen, his eyes on Roxas. "That little boy can talk to animals..." It was then that Axel's eyes seemed to turn to dollar signs and he grinned devilishly.

"So, may I go outside?" Roxas chirped hopefully with a smile.

Xigbar chuckled and leaned down so his face was a few inches from Roxas's. "Not until you've shown your gratitude to me that I'm letting you live here with me..." Roxas looked suddenly extremely scared and repulsed, his skin going a little paler. Axel didn't know what Xigbar was talking about, but he knew it wasn't going to be good...

And he was right... Xigbar had placed Roxas back on the edge of his bed and Axel heard the sound of a zipper being pulled down. Axel's eyes grew a little wide as he watched Roxas, voluntarily, unbutton Xigbar's pants and free his engorged erection. The redhead nearly went green in the face as he witnessed Roxas begin to actually drag his tongue all over Xigbar's length.

"Oh my god..." Axel whispered, backing away from the screen and tearing his eyes away from the horrible sight before him. "I...I just can't believe what Xigbar's doing to him..." Demyx had no desire to look; he could understand with his ears what was going on down there. "We gotta get that kid outta there, stat. He's being used and forced to do things he doesn't want to do. We gotta kidnap him- ah, I mean, rescue him..."

Axel glanced towards the openings in the screen again and felt his cheeks burn when he caught sight of Roxas having taken all of Xigbar's length into his mouth and was sucking. The black-haired man had both his palms at the base of Roxas's head and was attempting to force Roxas to go deeper when it was impossible. Roxas was whimpering and had tears rolling down his cheeks.

Axel felt both his heart break and his dick twitch and his brain scream "MONEY" as he watched all this unfold before him. He heard Roxas cough and gag violently and then the sound of Xigbar groaning in pleasure, and what was to arrive next was Xigbar's massive load of semen spurt out of his length and fill Roxas's mouth and dribble down his chin. Some of the white fluids splattered over the floor and Roxas pulled away, gasping for air but when Xigbar clamped Roxas's mouth closed he knew instantly to swallow. Xigbar grinned from ear to ear. "That's my good Roxas..."

Axel looked a little disturbed, unable to look away when he wished he could. Xigbar cleaned himself and lit another cigarette. He patted Roxas on the head and said, "I'll get Zexion to give ya some food in a little while." With that being said, Xigbar began to take his leave up the iron staircase. Roxas looked at Xigbar as he left and called out, "B-But you said I could go outside, Xigbar!" Roxas's answer was the sound of the door slamming closed and reverberating around the room. Without further or due, Roxas looked miserably to the floor, taking one of the patch-work blankets and wiping himself clean with it and sitting himself down on the bed again. He began to sob gently...

"Poor thing..." Axel grumbled. "I think we should talk to him." Axel sounded sympathetic all for more than about twelve seconds.

Demyx shook his head, terrified, "No, Axel, please no! You can't be really thinking of taking him? Xigbar's gonna find out and rip you apart!"

"Not if I rip him apart first," chuckled Axel. Gripping the screen between his fingers, Axel pushed the little screen open which allowed him entry to the room where Roxas was still sitting on his bed crying his eyes out. Axel slipped slowly out of the ventilation shaft and jumped out of it and onto the floor in one fluid motion.

Roxas, startled, gasped and looked up at the red-haired man before him. Immediately, Roxas looked frightened and began to try and stay away from Axel.

"Hey, hey, heyyyy!" Axel cooed. "Don't be afraid, kid. My name's Axel, and I'm you're knight in shining armor, here to rescue you!"

Roxas stared at Axel, looking confused. "Y-You...are?"

"Of course I am, squeaker," Axel kidded and stepped towards the blonde. "So what're you doin' here in this stinkhole, blondie?"

Roxas looked down sadly. "Xigbar...he found me on the streets, in an alleyway. At first he seemed really nice... He offered me a place to stay and I agreed to go with him. He said he had been watching me for a while and noticed I would talk to the alley rats at night and they'd come bring me food... Xigbar won't even let me see the sun anymore..."

"Such a pity," Axel sighed and sat down on the bed next to Roxas, putting his arm around him. "You're such a cutie, too. That dazzling little face of yours needs to be seen around the city; you're absolutely divine...uhh, what's your name?" Axel did not want to come across as if he had been watching Roxas just like how Xigbar had been.

"It's...Roxas..."

"Roxy, Roxy, Roxy!" Axel praised, taking Roxas's hand and kissing the knuckles. The blonde boy's face flushed pink and the redhead grinned charmingly. "I'm gonna get you away from Xigbar...and you can come stay with me..."

"AXEL! I'M SCARED!" screeched Demyx from the ventilation system. He was dangling off the ledge of the ventilation shaft, his feet no more than four feet from the ground.

"That's Demyx," smiled Axel. "He's my buddy. A real jokester he is! But yeah, c'mon, baby and pack your things. We're gettin' out of this joint." Without actually letting Roxas pack his bags, Axel snatched a leathery looking satchel from a pile of random junk in the corner of the room and began filling it with the actual valuable looking things in the room.

"So, you got any parents, kid?" Axel asked with a smile.

"I'm...an orphan," Roxas answered sadly.

Axel was thrilled by this, even though it was a really unfortunate circumstance. "Well, who needs parents when you got friends like me and Demyx." Demyx was whimpering in fear as he still dangled from the edge of the ventilation screen. "You're gonna stay with us, Roxy, so you won't be treated bad like how Xigbar treats ya." There came a crash and Demyx finally fell from his ledge right on his back-end. Once Axel was done packing the bag he tossed it into Demyx's lap who glared at the redhead.

"You're gonna have a much better life with the two of us, Roxas," Axel smiled sweetly. Stepping over to Roxas again, the redhead easily lifted Roxas into his arms like a little bride and began towards the ventilation system again. He allowed Roxas to crawl through it first so he could get a good view of the boy's ass on the way back and smiled kindly at him.

"Oh, Axel, thank you for...getting me out of here!"

"It's no problem, sweetie-pie, now scoot, we gotta get home!" Axel moved into the ventilation system himself while Demyx tried desperately to get back inside himself while simultaneously holding the over-stuffed bag.

"A-Axel?" Demyx whimpered, but Axel had already crawled away down the ventilation shaft with Roxas.

* * *

><p>Axel had arrived back at his home with Roxas in hand, Demyx trying to keep up from behind. They acquainted themselves a little more with the talented blonde boy and got a bit more information about Roxas's skill in talking with animals. Roxas seemed oblivious to Axel's plan and was simply glad to have someone to be with other than Xigbar. Axel actually let him go outside and was extremely kind to him so far!<p>

Now that it was nighttime, Axel was desperately wanting Roxas to get some sleep so he could discuss his plan with Demyx for tomorrow. However, it seemed Roxas was a bit too fidgety to stay awake, so Axel attempted to actually _read_ Roxas a bedtime story. He chose between several fairytales and ended up with Robin Hood. Axel wasn't exactly good at reading out loud and couldn't read very well in general, so what he had decided to do was sort of...elaborate on the general story of Robin Hood. He turned Maid Marion into Sir Marion, made Little John actually 'little', and made it quite clear that Robin Hood and his merry men were almost always wearing tights. And the way Axel seemed to describe all their personalities was very...well, prepubescent boy-ish.

With his arm wrapped around Roxas's shoulders and the blonde leaning into him, Axel went on and on with his tweaked story of Robin Hood. "So Robin Hood wanted to do something nice for his group of _adorable_ merry men, and of course the people of the uh, town...and stuff... He wanted to steal all the most precious items away from the evil prince, and one of those treasures was no other than Sir Marion, the most beautiful boy in the whole town! But most of all, he wanted to help out the poor, so yeah... He stole a bunch of gold from the royals and blah blah blah everyone lived happily ever after..."

"I really don't get this story," grumbled Demyx where he was laying on his back on the floor of their house with his legs resting up on Axel's bed. "Why would this guy give his money away to the poor?"

"Because he's generous?" Roxas suggested, not looking the slightest bit tired.

"Just a bunch of cheese, in my opinion," Demyx grimaced.

Axel threw the actual missing paged copy of the story of Robin Hood at Demyx which thonked against his shoulder.

"So did Robin Hood marry Sir Marion?" Roxas asked with sparkling eyes.

"Haha yeah, sure," Axel grinned, only elaborating that aspect of the story that Robin and Marion went off privately together for lovey-dovey time. "But, I think you should get some rest, kid. It's late. I gotta talk to Dem about some business. Here, take my bed."

Standing up from the bed, Axel gestured for Demyx to join him in the other room of the house in which he pulled some drapes back to divide Axel's part of the house from Demyx's. Roxas, who was curling up under the covers of Axel's bed, nuzzled the pillows and sighed happily.

"Goodnight Axel!" Roxas called loudly to Axel from beyond the curtains.

"W-What, oh, goodnight, Roxy!"

Rolling his green eyes and crossing his arms, Axel said, "Sheesh, that boy has got a good ass on him but boy is he innocent..."

"Why don't we hide him somewhere else, Axel?" complained Demyx. "He's just gonna cause us to pull our hair out, mannn... How about we hide him in the old church with Aerith? She'd be able to take good care of him."

"Tch, why would I do that?" Axel said in a hushed tone so Roxas wouldn't overhear. "Xigbar thinks I'm dead; this is the LAST place he's gonna look for the kid when he finds out his little sex toy has gone missing." Demyx groaned but mentally agreed. "But listen, we're gonna make a fucking bigass fortune off this kid. Do you realize how much dough we're gonna get if Roxas can talk to some...say, I dunno, race horses?"

"Horses!"

Axel flinched and glanced towards the drapes, pulling one back and seeing a very excitable looking Roxas on his bed, sitting straight up with wide eyes. "Did you say horses, Axel? I-I love horses!"

"You woke him up," Axel admonished Demyx in a furious whisper while momentarily closing the drapes. Demyx looked ready to hang himself. "But yes, Roxy, I said horses... Now, uh, get some sleep." Closing the drapes again, Axel turned back to Demyx and sighed, exasperated.

"Get up at eight tomorrow," instructed Axel. "We gotta get to that horse race at ten sharp tomorrow, and we'll for sure win all the cash that's betted." Axel grinned a little maniacally while Demyx nodded his head and yawned sleepily.

"Okayyyy, nighty night, Axel," Demyx smiled and crawled up to his bed, falling asleep instantly when his head touched the pillow.

Returning to his part of the house, Axel closed the drapes separating his room from Demyx's and caught a glance at Roxas who was laying under the covers of his bed watching Axel with those big blue eyes of his. It both amused and creeped Axel out a little bit but he offered the blonde a smile. "Go to _sleep._"

Striding across the room, Axel slowly dimmed the lights on the wall which caused the room to grow darker. He then strolled towards the window which had a lumpy looking cushion meant for a window seat by it which he sat down on and stared out the window with a thoughtful stare. But he wasn't able to focus on what was outside the window for long when he felt eyes boring into the back of his head. Nervously, Axel turned to glance at Roxas over his shoulder and sure enough, Roxas was still nuzzled up under the covers, just watching Axel with wide eyes.

"Do the pillows need to be fluffed or something?" Axel spoke grumpily.

"N-No, I-I'm sorry..." Roxas said, looking away. "I suppose I'm just...a little scared."

Quirking an eyebrow, Axel faced Roxas completely where he was sitting, "Scared of what, squeaker?"

Lowering his gaze, Roxas felt his cheeks burn. "Well...I'm afraid that...you're g-gonna turn out like how Mr. Xigbar was, Axel."

Axel couldn't help but actually feel his heart move a little when Roxas said this. However, he smiled and shook his head, crimson spikes bouncing. "Don't worry, Roxy. I ain't nothin' like that guy..."

"Y-You're not gonna...you know...t-touch me or anything...right?" Roxas muttered sheepishly.

As much as Axel wanted to say, "Oh god would I love to touch you", he held back and smiled again, shaking his head. "I won't. Remember, kid, I'm your knight in shining armor. I wouldn't touch you like how Xigbar did...he's the evil wizard..."

Roxas couldn't help but giggle and Axel grinned delightedly at the blonde's little laugh; adorable. Shaking his head, Axel realized he was falling for the sweetness this boy bore and told himself repeatedly in his mind that this kid was for money purposes only. "Now uh, go to sleep."

Axel sighed and decided to rest himself down against the window seat, propping a cushion from his bed up behind his head and closing his eyes.

"U-Um...Axel?"

Sighing, Axel opened his eyes and looked up at Roxas, "What?"

"Do you think um...you could tuck me in?" Roxas asked shyly.

"Tucked in? You're alrea-" Axel stopped himself and took in a deep breath of air. If he gained the trust and sympathy from Roxas then things would be so much easier later. Giving into Roxas, Axel rose from the window seat and stepped over to his bed in which he tucked the sheets of the bed up under Roxas snugly and made sure Roxas was nice and comfy.

"There," grumbled Axel as he returned to his spot on the window seat. Closing his eyes once again, Axel sighed, trying to relax but wasn't able to relax for very long from the constant squeaking of the springs coming from his bed. Eyebrows twitching in irritation, Axel sat up and growled. "Hey! Quiet down."

The squeaking stopped and he heard a faint "I'm sorry" from the bed. Closing his eyes once more, the redhead felt just on the verge of falling asleep when he actually heard Roxas begin to speak. Groaning quietly, he went to go and say something but stopped when he realized what Roxas was saying.

"Thank you for helping me find a way to get away from Xigbar," Roxas prayed quietly. "I couldn't be happier where I am right now... Thank you for Axel and Demyx...they're really nice to me..."

Axel, his face slightly blank, watched Roxas from where he was laying and the corner of his mouth curled a little in amusement. Once Roxas had stopped praying, the redhead felt his eyes close slowly, but when he opened them at instinct to check the room he flinched and cried out in surprise when he was met with Roxas staring at him right next to Axel.

"Nnngh..." Axel groaned, pressing a hand to his face. "What is it, Roxas?..."

"Axel, can you come and...and sleep with me?" Roxas asked timidly.

Removing the hand from his face, Axel glanced down at Roxas and stuck out his bottom lip. Now that was something Axel could manage. How could he _not_ turn down sleeping in his own bed, pressed right up against an adorable, slender little boy like him? Smirking, Axel said, "Sure, Roxas, sure..."

Following Roxas back towards the bed, Axel allowed Roxas to slide in first before Axel got right in after him. Once the sheets were tucked comfortably around the two of them, Axel found his heart flutter when Roxas wrapped both of his skinny little arms around one of Axel's larger more muscular arms and nuzzle his bicep tenderly. Axel couldn't resist the smile that spread across his lips and he stroked Roxas's hair affectionately and leaned back against the pillows to close his eyes once more.

"Axel?"

"...What..."

"Do you think I'll...find somebody who...who really loves me?" Roxas asked quietly. "You know...like how Robin Hood loved Sir Marion?"

Axel smiled a little. "Of course... But please...Roxas...go to _sleeeep_..."

* * *

><p>Xigbar was sitting in his casino, in his personal back room, and he was tossing a very lethal looking knife up and down in his hand, catching the blunt sides of the blade once and then the hilt another times. The expression on his face was hard and cold, a kind of lividness hidden within his yellowish eyes.<p>

The door to the back room opened up and in stepped Zexion. Once Zexion had stepped foot in the room, Xigbar gripped the hilt of the knife and threw it as hard as he could in Zexion's direction. Eyes a little wider than they usually were, Zexion flinched a little as the knife embedded itself into the wall right next to his head, cutting one strand of his purple-blue hair.

"Roxas is gone," Xigbar breathed dangerously. Licking his row up upper teeth, Xigbar stared only at Zexion. "I want him back." Zexion looked a little scared but nevertheless nodded his head.

"Y-Yes, sir."

Xigbar stood up from his seat and walked towards Zexion, wrapping his fingers around the knife, his eyes connecting to that of Zexion's.

"Right_..."_ Xigbar snarled, bringing the knife out of the wall and holding it by the blade, gripping it tightly, "..._now."_ Zexion nodded his head once again, trying to appear unphased by Xigbar's rage however noticing blood trickle down Xigbar's wrist and stain the floor. And then, in a state of fury, Xigbar turned around and threw the knife at a mirror across the room, where the point of the knife broke the glass and stuck into the wood behind it, the pieces of glass scattering all over the floor and Xigbar's blood dripping from the blade.


End file.
